Airbus Defence and Space delivers ‘multi-eyed’ spectrograph for the James Webb Space Telescope to ESA

6 September 2013

• Airbus Defence and Space completes construction of the Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), which will study the evolution of planets, stars and galaxies

• NIRSpec to be a key instrument on the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, successor to the Hubble space telescope

• Instrument will measure spectra from 100 different galaxies simultaneously

6 September 2013 – Airbus Defence and Space, Europe’s leading space technology company, has completed the flight model of the Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) and delivered it to its customer, the European Space Agency (ESA). The instrument will soon be shipped to the United States where, after further testing by NASA, it will be integrated onto the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

The completion of NIRSpec marks an important milestone in the construction of JWST. After launch in 2018 on an Ariane 5 from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, it will detect and analyse the very faint light from the first galaxies which formed in the Universe.

Airbus Defence and Space is the prime contractor on behalf of ESA for NIRSpec, which will be capable of measuring the spectrum of up to one hundred objects simultaneously. That will enable JWST to observe large samples of galaxies and stars to unprecedented depths across large swathes of the Universe and far back in time.

NASA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) are collaborating to develop JWST, which will replace the legendary Hubble telescope and enable observation and measurement of infrared wavelengths. JWST will be able to study every phase in the evolution of the Universe in great detail – from the first stars and galaxies to form after the Big Bang to the formation of planetary systems in our own Milky Way galaxy today.

This will be made possible by JWST’s huge primary mirror (which, with 18 hexagonal segments spanning a total of six and a half metres in diameter, will be the largest telescope in space) and its suite of four highly-sensitive scientific instruments, one of which is NIRSpec.

Made from silicon carbide, NIRSpec weighs only 200 kilograms and will operate at temperatures of –233°C as JWST orbits 1.5 million kilometres away from Earth. Once in space, the telescope and its instruments will remain in operation for up to 10 years.

As Eric Béranger, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space noted: “Airbus Defence and Space is Europe’s top space equipment manufacturer and NIRSpec represents the pinnacle of technology for modern astronomy. JWST will be hugely important in expanding our understanding of how our universe evolved. NIRSpec is further proof of Airbus Defence and Space’s unrivalled expertise. We are proud to be supporting the scientific research that JWST will carry out.”

Along with NIRSpec, Airbus Defence and Space in the UK was also involved in the development of another key instrument for JWST, the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). A combined camera and spectrograph for mid-infrared wavelengths, MIRI will extend JWST’s observation capabilities to longer wavelengths than covered by its other instruments, vital for the study of highly red-shifted light from objects in the early universe. MIRI was delivered to ESA and subsequently to NASA in 2012.

About Airbus Defence and Space

Airbus Defence and Space is Europe’s leading company for space systems and technology, and No. 3 worldwide. It is the only company in the world to provide the entire range of civil and military space systems, equipment and services.

In 2012, Airbus Defence and Space achieved a turnover of 5.8 billion euros and had a global workforce of more than 18,000.

Airbus Defence and Space’s core business is divided into three areas: Airbus Defence and Space, Europe’s prime contractor for launchers, orbital systems and space exploration; Airbus Defence and Space, a leading provider of satellite-based solutions, including satellites, ground segments, payloads and equipment; and Airbus Defence and Space, which delivers end-to-end stationary and mobile solutions for secure and commercially viable satellite communication and networks as well as tailor-made geo-information products and services worldwide.

Airbus Defence and Space is a wholly owned subsidiary of AIRBUS Group, a leading international aeronautics company. In 2012, AIRBUS Group posted revenues of 56.5 billion euros with its defence products and related services, and had over 140,000 employees. Airbus, Airbus Defence and Space, Cassidian and Eurocopter are divisions of AIRBUS Group.

Ulysses: journeying over the Sun’s polesThe deep-space probe Ulysses had been on its mission to explore the Sun’s surface and the region close to the Sun, investigating the structure and variations of the heliosphere since 1990. The mission finally ended on 30 June 2009 and holds the record as the longest running European Space Agency operated mission at 18 years and 246 days.